Large Print Charles I King and Collector I Do not remove from gallery Audio tour Main commentary Descriptive commentary 100 Welcome 1 Anthony van Dyck, Charles I in Three Positions 2 Anthony van Dyck, Henrietta Maria 3 Peter Paul Rubens, Self-portrait 1 IV V VI VII VIII Central Lecture III IX Hall Room Way in II I Shop X Vestibule You are in Gallery I 2 100 1 3 Dieussart, Charles I 2 Charles I King and Collector Main Galleries: 27 January – 15 April 2018 Contents Page 4 Introduction to the exhibition Page 6 Artists and Agents Page 8 List of works Sponsored by Exhibition organised in partnership with The production of RA large print guides is generously supported by Robin Hambro 3 100 Charles I King and Collector Charles I was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1625 to 1649. A tempestuous relationship between the King and his government sent England into almost a decade of Civil War, and Charles I was eventually overcome by Parliament, imprisoned, tried and found guilty of high treason. On 30 January 1649, Charles I was executed outside the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace. This was the first – and last – time that England saw a monarch overthrown by the people. During his reign, Charles I had assembled one of the most extraordinary art collections in Europe. Following his execution, the contents of the royal household, including the King’s legendary collection, were put up for sale and dispersed. 4 Many works of art were recovered when the monarchy was restored in 1660, but some of the most celebrated pictures had been sold abroad and ended up, most notably, at the Spanish and French courts. Works formerly in the collection of Charles I are now in the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, the Musée du Louvre, Paris, as well as other public and private collections in Europe and beyond. ‘Charles I: King and Collector’ reunites many of the King’s pictures, sculptures and tapestries for the first time since the seventeenth century, providing an unprecedented opportunity to experience the collection that changed the appreciation of art in England. 5 Gallery I Artists and Agents All collections are formed by an interaction of opportunity, fashion and personal taste. Charles I grew up in a highly cultured environment, and both his father, James I, and his elder brother, Henry, Prince of Wales (who died prematurely in 1612), showed a great interest in the arts. However, most works on display in the various royal palaces – including Whitehall, the King’s main residence – entered the collection in the years following Charles’s accession to the throne in 1625. This gallery introduces some of the protagonists involved in making and assembling the collection: 6 the artists, most notably Anthony van Dyck, who was appointed court painter in 1632; the agents and courtiers, who travelled across the continent acquiring pictures; other collectors, such as Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, and James I’s favourite, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham; and, most importantly, Queen Henrietta Maria, whose role in shaping the collection has only recently received the attention it deserves. The collection of Charles I can be reconstructed on the basis of two documents: the 1639 inventory of Whitehall Palace, which was assembled by Abraham van der Doort, Surveyor of the King’s Pictures, and the 1649 inventories of the so-called Commonwealth Sale. If it is known, the labels will indicate where each work was displayed during the reign of Charles I and who acquired it in the Commonwealth Sale. 7 List of works (clockwise in order of hang) Wenceslaus Hollar (1607–1677) Whitehall Palace 1637–1643 Pen and grey ink and watercolour on paper The British Museum, London Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel c. 1620–1621 Oil on canvas The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (continued over) 8 Van Dyck first visited London between October 1620 and March 1621. During this period, he painted Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, a grandee of the Jacobean court and one of its most knowledgeable and ruthless art collectors. Arundel is shown seated, dressed in what a contemporary called his “plain Stuff”, and toying with the Lesser George, the badge of the Order of the Garter. Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, on Horseback 1625 Oil on panel Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth 9 Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) Endymion Porter 1628 Oil on canvas Private collection Endymion Porter, Gentleman of the Bedchamber, was one of the King’s closest attendants and particularly knowledgeable about art. In 1628, while travelling on diplomatic business through the Southern Netherlands, he met Van Dyck and commissioned this portrait. He and Van Dyck remained close friends after the artist moved to London in 1632. 10 2 Anthony Van Dyck (1599–1641) Henrietta Maria 1638 Oil on canvas Lent by Her Majesty The Queen Henrietta Maria had refined tastes and played an active role in cultivating the arts at the Stuart court. After successfully mediating with Pope Urban VIII for Gianlorenzo Bernini to make a bust of her husband, she sought a comparable one for herself. Van Dyck presumably painted this portrait for Bernini, but it was never sent to Rome. Another bust of Henrietta Maria (Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen) was eventually commissioned from the Flemish sculptor François Dieussart. Dieussart’s bust of Charles I is on display in the centre of this gallery. 11 1 Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) Charles I in Three Positions 1635–1636 Oil on canvas Lent by Her Majesty The Queen On 17 March 1636, Charles I wrote to Gianlorenzo Bernini in Rome, asking him to make a marble portrait bust “after the painted portrait which we shall send to you immediately”. Van Dyck here flaunts his powers with paint – melting, mobile features, brilliant highlights in the eyes, and soft, cloudy hair. Bernini’s bust was destroyed in the fire at Whitehall Palace in 1698. Van Dyck’s painting fared better: it was kept by Bernini in Rome and exhibited at the Pantheon, where it was apparently much admired by Roman painters of the second half of the century. 12 3 Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) Self-portrait 1623 Oil on panel Lent by Her Majesty The Queen Whitehall Palace, Little Room between the Breakfast Chamber and the Privy Gallery. Edward Bass and Dividend, Commonwealth Sale, 19 December 1651 (£16) Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) Self-portrait with a Sunflower c. 1633 Oil on canvas Private collection (continued over) 13 Van Dyck was appointed court painter in 1632. He was knighted by Charles I and received a gold chain, which he presents here. This self-portrait seems to have a symbolic meaning that can be read in various ways. Perhaps the artist-courtier follows the royal monarch like the sunflower tracks the sun – or the image could be interpreted as a metaphor for painting and the act of looking. Daniel Mytens (c. 1590–1647) Self-portrait c. 1630 Oil on panel Lent by Her Majesty The Queen Whitehall Palace, Little Room between the Breakfast Chamber and the Privy Gallery. John Hunt and Edward Bass, Commonwealth Sale, 1 March 1653 (£6) 14 Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) Inigo Jones 1632–1636 Black chalk and pen and brown ink on paper The Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement Architect Inigo Jones was Surveyor of the King’s Works. His two most important building projects at court were the new Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace and the Queen’s House in Greenwich. Van Dyck’s drawing was made for a series of engraved portraits of famous men and women, known as the ‘Iconographie’. 15 Centre of room François Dieussart (c. 1600–1661) Charles I 1636 Marble The Duke of Norfolk, Arundel Castle 16 Your feedback, please As we are committed to access for all, we would like your feedback on our large-print provision. Feedback forms are available from the Information Desk on the ground floor. We also offer one-to-one audio descriptive tours of the exhibitions with trained volunteer audio describers. Wheelchair users can also benefit from our volunteers, who can assist with taking you around the galleries so you can enjoy our exhibitions at your leisure. With prior notice we can arrange these at a time that fits in with your schedule. Contact me for further information. Thank you. Molly Bretton, Access & Communities Manager Large Print Design & typography by WfS Create: [email protected] © Copyright Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2018. Large Print Charles I King and Collector II Do not remove from gallery Audio tour Main commentary Descriptive commentary 4 Titian, Charles V with a Dog 5 51 Peter Paul Rubens, Minerva Protects Pax from Mars 1 IV V VI VII VIII Central Lecture III IX Hall Room Way in II I Shop X Vestibule You are in Gallery II 5 51 4 Aphrodite Showcase 2 Charles I King and Collector Main Galleries: 27 January – 15 April 2018 Contents Page 4 Madrid and Mantua Page 6 List of works Sponsored by Exhibition organised in partnership with The production of RA large print guides is generously supported by Robin Hambro 3 Gallery II Madrid and Mantua In March 1623, the 22-year old Prince Charles arrived in Madrid to negotiate his proposed marriage to the Infanta Maria Anna, sister of Philip IV of Spain. The “Spanish Match” ultimately failed, but the splendour of the Habsburg collection made a lasting impression on the future King. He returned to London with works by Titian and Veronese, as well as a portrait (now lost) he had commissioned from the newly appointed painter to the Spanish court, Diego Velázquez.